Geophysical instrument mounting



Dec, 2, 1941. D. SILVERMAN ET AL 3 3 2 59 Pl i 4 46 N o J. 54 3 4g I. 05a I 1 i i' n1 III 53 .49 4 3.1 5*

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ATTORNEY 4 I D. SILVERMAN ETAL 2,264,342

GEOPHYSICAL INSTRUMENT MOUNTING Filed May 12, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 51941. D. SILVERMAN EI'AL 2,264,342

GEOPHYSICAL INSTRUMENT MOUNTING Filed May 12, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 vINVENTORS: Jaaul'tuegwzwn Patented Dec. 2, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE GEOPHYSICAL INSTRUMENT MOUNTING Daniel Silverman and John L.Bible, Tulsa, kla.', assignors to Stanolind Oil & Gas Company, Tulsa,0kl a., a corporation of Delaware Application May 12, 1939, Serial No.273,323 Claims. (01. 265-14) This invention relates to a mounting forgeophysical instruments and more particularly to causes difllculty inhandling the instruments,

since considerable effort must be exerted to move and place them whileat the same time they must be handled carefully in order to avoiddamaging the delicate parts. The usual method is to transportgeophysical equipment in trucks equipped with tripods which can beprojected through the floor of the vehicle to find support on theground. After the tripod is in place the instrument is lifted to thehead of the-tripodand adjusted to the proper level and direction. Thisparticular operation requires great manual labor, because of the weightand bulk of the instrument, and great care, since any slight mishap maycause serious damage to the instrument itself.

It is an object of this invention to provide. a mounting for geophysicalinstruments by which they can be transported safely in vehicles andplaced upon the supporting tripod without the necessity of manualhandling and without danger of injury. Another object of our inventionis to provide a mounting for a geophysical instrument which willminimize the mechanical labor necessary to place this instrument in theproper condition for use. Other and more detailed objects, advantagesand uses of our invention will become apparent as the descriptionthereof proceeds, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswhich illustrate one specific embodiment thereof. 7

Figure 1 is a plan view showingthe general features of'the geophysicalinstrument mounting.

Figure 2' is a front elevation showing the frame of the geophysicalinstrument mounting, and also showing the support of the geosorbingmount of the geophysical instrument on the carriage taken along the line8-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detailed plan view of the lower frame of the tripodshowing the elevating gear mechanism.

Figure 5 is an elevation of the lower tripod frame without the gearmechanism. Q

Figure 6 is a detailed plan view of the center gear mechanism shown inFigure 4. v

Figure 7 is a detailed elevation of the center gear mechanism shown inFigure 6.

Figure 8 is a detailed elevation of the worm drive assembly taken alongthe line 8-8 of Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a sectional elevation of the worm drive assembly taken alongthe line 9-9 of Figure-8.

Figure 10 is a plan view of the upper tripod showing the locations ofthe three contact points.

Figure 11 is a, sectional elevation taken along the-line ll-ll of Figure10 showing in detail a movable contact point.

Figure 12 is another sectional view taken along the line I2--I2 ofFigure 10 showing in detail the fixed contact point.

Figure 13 is -a lan view showing a modification of our geophysicalinstrument mounting.

instrument I0 is mounted on carriage II and fastened thereto by eyebolts l2 and wing nuts l3 which engage slotted brackets l4 fastened tof; geophysical instrument Ill. Carriage H comof v physical"i'nstrumenton the tripod above the floor of the vehicle.

, Figure 3 is a detailed section of the carriage mounting and carriageshowing the shock abprises two cross bars IS, the ends of which arefastened to upper channel frames l6 of'shock' absorber assemblies I'I(Figure 3). Lower channel frames iii are fastened topedestals l9. Axles'20 of flanged wheels 2| are held in pedestals l9 cross bars ii ofcarriage II is located a circular track 23 on which are mounted rollerbearings .24. Thej'base of geophysical instrument In is equipped withcircular flange 25 which corre-- sponds to track 23 and guidesgeophysical instru-' ment l0 about rollers 24 and prevents it from beingdislodged from the rollers. Track 22 rests on floor H of the vehicle andextends from the nels.

front of the vehicle up to the tripod head as far as possible, at whichpoint the track is terminated by stops 26 to prevent; further movementof the carriage wheels 2|. The tracks 22 extend to such a distance thatthe carriage carrying the geophysical instrument In is located over thetripod head'as indicated by the dotted lines It). Moreover, cross barsl5 are sufficiently elevated above track 22 that the carriage is abovethe tripod head. Tracks 22 are long enough to permit carriage I with itsgeophysical instrument to be moved entirely clear of the tripod head andlocated at the front of the vehicle. In order to prevent the movement ofthe carriage while the vehicle is in motion or after the geophysicalinstrument has been set in place on the tripod heads, the wheels arechocked by means not shown.

As will be seen from the plan view illJistrated in Figure 1, the tripodhead consists of two triangularpframes of different size, the smallerframe being superposed on the larger frame, The larger tripod head isformed of three channels 21, 28 and 29 carrying vertical angles 30 whichare welded in place at the juncture of the chan- These angles serve asguides for the three legs 3| and these legs 3| may be clamped in placeby means of clamps 32. The clamps are operated by means of wing nuts 33,being normally urged to an unclamped position by springs 34. When thevehicleis in motion vertical angles 30 of lower tripod frame 21, 28 and29 rests on the floor 14 of the vehicle and the tripod legs 3| areclamped in a raised position.

The upper triangle of the tripod head is composed of channels 35, 36 and31. This triangle is held in shape by blocks 38 which may be welded tothe channels. The frame 35, 36, 31 is supported above frame 21, 28, 29by screw shafts 39 (Figure 2), the details of which will be'describedmore fully later. Shown generally on frame 35, 36, 31 are contact points40, 4| and 42 and hand wheels 43 and 44. Also shown generally is thecenter gear assembly for elevating and lowering frame 35, 36, 31 whichis controlled-by crank 45 and crank shaft 46 which passes throughbearing 41 fastened to channel 29. This will also be described in moredetail later.

Figure 4 of the drawings shows in greater detail the gear assemblies onframe 21, 28, 29. Across each corner of frame 21, 28 and 29 are angles48 and 49 which are fastened to the channel frames 21, 28 and 29.Supported on angles 48 and 49 are bearing posts 58 bolted thereto bybolts 5|. Supported within bearing posts 59 are worm wheels 52 whichcooperate with worm screws 53 on shafts 54. Shafts 54 pass throughbearings 55 and 56 and are keyed therein. The

opposite ends of screw shafts 54-are equipped" with beveledgears 51whichcooperate with the lower beveled gear 58, shown in Fig.9. Wingbolts 59 cooperate with openings 59a in channels, 21, 28 and 29, inwhichpins (not shown) are inserted.

Figures 6 and 7 show in greater detail the gear assembly at themid-point of the lower tripod frame 21, 28 and 29. A plate 60 supportedon angles 6| and 62 which in turn are fastened to the lower legs of thechannels 21 and 28 supports shaft 63 shown by the dotted line in Figure7. Worm shafts 54 pass through bearings 54 which are suspendedfrom plate60. Shaft 46 passes through bearing 65 which is supported on plate 60,and terminates in beveled gear 66. Beveled .gear 61 cooperates withBeveled gear 66 movement of the carriage and is joined to beveled gear58 by the common shaft 63.

Figure 10 shows the details of frame 35, 36 and 31. Angles 68, 69 and 10support contact points 40, 4| and 42 and are fastened to channels 35, 36and 31. Contact point 40 is a fixed contact point while contact points4| and 42 are thrust bearings, as may be seen in Figure 11. The heightof contact points 4| and 42 may be adjusted by rotating hand wheels 43and 44 which are fastened securely to threaded shafts 1| (Figure 11) oneof which passes through a threaded opening in angle 69 and the otherthrough a similar opening in angle 10. Figure 12 illustrates the meansof fastening the fixed contact point 40 to angle 68 by means of nuts 12and 13.

In operation the geophysical instrument III is mounted on carriage IIand fastened securely thereto by eye bolts l2 and wing nuts 13 whichcooperate with slotted brackets M on geophysical instrument In. Thetripod head is rough leveled as indicated by levels 15 by means of pins(not shown) in holes 59a, one end of which rests on the floor 14 of thevehicle. The tripod is raised or lowered by hand to a roughly horizontalposition and the pins fastened securely in place by wing bolts 59. Whenthis has been accomplished, wing nuts 33 are loosened, thereby releasingsprings 34 which will urge clamp 32 to an unclamped position and permitlegs 3| to be lowered to the ground through openings in the floor 14 ofthe vehicle on which the mounting is carried. Legs 3| are drivensecurely into position, wing nuts 33 are tightened and the tripod headis thus secured in a roughly horizontal position. If desired, wing bolts59 may then be loosened and the pins in holes 59a removed.

When the tripod head has been roughly leveled, carriage bearinggeophysical instrument I0 is moved forward along tracks 22 until it isin position above the tripod head and the wheels 2| of carriage bracedagainst stop 26. The wheels 2| are then chocked firmly to prevent Thetripod legs 3|, and particularly the rear tripod leg, should be lowenough after it has been driven into position to permit the frame ofcarriage II .to pass above it without obstruction. Geophysicalinstrument I0 is freed from carriage H by loosening the wing nuts l3 andremoving bolts I2 from brackets I4, and oriented, if necessary, byswinging it in the proper direction. Rollers 24 on track 23 serve topermit this operation without the exertion of any great effort on thepart of the operator and flange 25 prevents geophysical instrument ||lfrom disengaging from the rollers. 'Frame 35, 36 and 31 of the tripodhead is raised until the contact points 40, 4| and 42 contact the baseof the geophysical instrument I0 and elevate it from carriage II. Thisis accomplished by turning crank 45 which in turn revolves shaft 46 andbeveled gear 66. Beveled gear 66 meshes with beveled gear 61 and causesit to revolve thereby revolving beveled gear 58 which is joined tobeveled gear 61 through shaft 63. As beveled gear 58 turns it causesbeveled gears 51 to revolve in turn which imparts a rotary motion toworm shafts 54. Worm screws 53 on shafts 54 mesh with worm wheels 52causing them to turn screw shafts 39, thereby raising upper tripod frame35, 36 and 31. Screw shafts 39, being engaged in threaded blocks 38 ofupper tripod frame, raise the entire frame until the contact points 40,4| and 42 contact geophysical gears 52 and screw shafts 39 respectively,are

identicalin shape and size geophysical instrument ID will be raised inapproximately the horizontal position which was obtained by roughleveling frame 21, 28 and 29.

The oriented geophysical instrument I resting on contact points 40, 4|and 42 is now carefully adjusted to a level position as indicated bylevels (not shown) on geophysical instrument In by means of hand wheels43 and 44. As has been pointed out contact point 40 is a fixed contactpoint while contact points 4| and 42 are movable contact points. Byturning hand wheels 43 and 44 to the right or left as may be necessary,

the contact points 4| and 42 may be raised or lowered by the operatoruntil geophysical instrument I0 is accurately leveled. The readings canthen be en, the instrument lowered by lowering fra e 35, 36 and 31through a reverse manipulation of the gear mechanism previouslydescribed until the instrument Ill again rests on carriage II. Thescrews l2 are readjusted in brackets l4, and wing nuts l3 tightened,thereby.

strument l0 and preventing the injury to the delicate parts of theinstrument.

In a modification of our mounting, the carriage and track for moving thegeophysical instrument into place is eliminated. and the instrumentcarried above the tripod heads" on shock absorbing supports. This isshown in Figures l3 and 14. Figure 13is a general plan view of thisarrangement, while Figure 14 is an elevation showing in more detail themethod of mounting the geophysical instrument above the tripod assembly.It will be obvious that the various details shown in Figures 4, 5, 6,'7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are equally applicable to this modification, andare omitted for the sake'of simplicity.

Referring now to Figure 13, the ends of cross bars l are fastened toupper channel frames 16,

of the shock absorber assemblies I! as before;

Lower channel frames I8 are mounted on posts 80, which are fastenedfirmly to the floor 14 of the vehicle. Geophysical instrument I0,fastened to cross bars l5 as previously described by wing nuts [3,screws l2 and brackets I4, is located in the desired position above thedouble tripod head. When the vehicle is in motion, the delicate parts p3 brackets, etc.' In all cases, however, a shock absorbing medium isinterposed between the frame supporting the geophysical instrument andthe stationary supporting means.

This modification is particularly applicable in locations where thelength of the vehicle is insufficient to permit the installation of themovable carriage and track arrangement, and may also be used in thoselocations where access to the rear tripod leg (for positioning itsecurely) is not a problem. It should be pointed out, however, that theangle at which tripod legs 3| are held must not be greater than willpermit these legs to be drawn up into the vehicle without beinginterfered with or limited by the walls of geophysical instrument I.

It will be seen by the above that we have provided a mountingfor-geophysical instruments intended to be conveyed by vehicle whichprotects the delicate parts of the apparatus and yet at the same timepermits the quick and easy adjustment of the instrument to the positionin which it is to be utilized without great manual labor or hardship inmoving the heavy bulky portion of the instruments.

We claim:

1. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a tripod having a fixedhead and an adjustable head, a support for a geophysical instrument,means for adjusting said support to position said geophysical instrumentabove said tripod, and means for elevating said adjustable head tosupport said geophysical instrument.

2. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a tripod having a fixedhead and an adjustable head, a shock-proof support for a geophysicalinstrument, means for adjusting said shock proof support to positionsaid geophysical instrument above said tripod on said shock-proofsupport, and means fer elevating said adjustable head to support saidgeophysical instrument.

3. A geophysicalinstrument mounting comprising a tripod having a fixedhead and an adjustable head, a shock-proof support for said geophysicalinstrument when not in use, means for adjusting said geophysicalinstrument above said tripod, means for elevating said adjustable tripodhead to lift-said geophysical instrument from said support, and meansfor leveling said geophysical instrument on said adjustable tripod head.

4. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a vehicle, a' carryingsupport thereon for a geophysical instrument, shock-absorbing meansassociated with said carrying support, a fixed support adapted toproject through the floor of said vehicle into firm contact with theearth and means associated with one of said supports whereby thevertical separation between said two supports is decreased and thegeophysical instrument is lifted free of said of. the instrument areprotected from damage by the shock proof mounting. When the instrumentis to be used, it-is only necessary to free the instrument from itsfastenings, orient it by means of rollers 24, (after properly adjustingthe base tripod) and raise upper tripod head until the contact pointslift the geophysical instrument. from its support. After proper leveladjustment has been made, the'instrument is ready for use. Otherstationary means than the posts illustrated for supporting geophysicalinstrument It) in position are contemplated within the scope of thisinvention and may include walls, angles carryingsupport by the upperportion of said fixed support and is thus held in fixed relationshipwith the earth while in use.

' 5. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a vehicle, a fixedsupport for a geophysical instrument, adapted to project through thefloor of said vehicle into firm contact with the earth, a carryingsupport for said geophysical instrument, said geophysical instrumentbeing adapted to rest upon said carrying support above said fixedsupport, a raisable portion on said fixed support and means associatedtherewith for raising the raisable portion of said fixed support intocontact with said geophysical instrument to lift said geophysicalinstrument free of said carrying support onto said fixed support.

6. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a vehicle, a carriagetherein to support said geophysical instrument, shock-absorbing meansassociated with said carriage, a fixed support adapted to projectthrough the fioor of said vehicle into firm contact with the earth,track means for moving said carriage into position with said geophysicalinstrument over said fixed support and means mounted on said fixedsupport for lifting said geophysical instrument free of said carriage.

7. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising in a vehicle a movablesupport for a geophysical instrument, a guide to direct translationalmovement of said support, a guide to direct rotational movement of saidgeophysical instrument on said support and a fixed support having meansthereon adapted to lift said geophysical instrument free of said movablesupport.

8. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a vehicle, a firstsupport for said geophysical instrument, said support being carried bysaid vehicle, a second support for said geophysical instrument, saidsecond support being adapted to project through the floor of saidvehicle into fixed contact with the earth, guiding and supporting meansfor moving said first support carrying said geophysical instrument intoa first position in which said first support is distant from said secondsupport and into a second position in whichsaid first support is abovesaid second support, and means associated with one of said two supportsfor lifting said geophysical instrument free of said first support andonto said second support.

9. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a vehicle, a firstsupport for said geophysical instrument, said support being carried bysaid vehicle, a second support for said geophysical instrument, saidsecond support being adapted to project through the floor of saidvehicle into fixed contact with the earth, guiding and supporting meansfor moving said first support carrying said geophysical instrument intoa first position in which said first support is distant from said secondsupport and into a second position in which said first support is abovesaid second support. guiding means associated with said first supportfor rotational movement and adjustment of said geophysical instrumentand means associated with one of said two supports for lifting saidgeophysical instrument free of said first support and onto said secondsupport.

10. A geophysical instrument mounting comprising a vehicle, atripod'having a fixed head and an adjustable head, legs for supportingsaid fixed head and projectable through the fioor of said vehicle intofirm contact with the earth, means for raising and lowering saidadjustable head, a wheeled truck for supporting said geophysicalinstrument, shock-absorbing means on said truck for protecting saidgeophysical instrument, guiding means for directing said truck bearingsaid geophysical instrument above said tripod, means on said adjustabletripod head for supporting said geophysical instrument in a raisedposition above said truck, and means connected with said last-mentionedsupporting means for adjusting the level of the supported geophysicalinstrument.

DANIEL SILVERMAN. JOHN L. BIBLE.

